


not a game anymore

by winterbitch (WinterLadyy)



Series: the promise [3]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: (Tony and Nebula), BAMF Loki (Marvel), Coming Back, Fix-It, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Loki isn't playing games anymore, M/M, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Powerful Loki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-05-07 11:02:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14669742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterLadyy/pseuds/winterbitch
Summary: Loki isn't playing games anymore. After all, it's hard to be a God of Chaos in a half-empty universe, where Thanos holds all of the power. No, Loki is finally taking it seriously and that means reminding everyone that he isn't just a God of Mischief and Daggers. He is so much more.Thor is waiting for him on Earth, and so Loki is on his way because he has a promise to keep. But before that, he has to make a few stops.





	not a game anymore

**Author's Note:**

> Infinity War spoilers obviously.
> 
> this is me doing what i want coz im tired of loki basically stabbing people and being treated like a pest. let my boy be powerful

1.

Loki stared at the forge, his ship silent and dark. The last time he had been there, not that long ago, it had been dead and silent, work of Thanos to get the Gauntlet. Yet, something awakened it, even though it was once again silent, and Loki could feel Thor’s energy filling the place, like an afterthought, an echo of a familiar melody. He smirked and brought his ship closer, being careful of the piece of garbage.

He hadn't been willing to waste his magic to try and get something better, especially as it wasn't that important yet. There were so many other means of transportation, his seiðr almost jumping to life. Loki closed his hands into fists again, calming himself internally and carefully sat the ship down, making himself known to whoever was residing there. He only hoped that Thanos’ little trick hadn't erased them, as he needed a weapon.

His seiðr was powerful, but there was no need to use it all the time and the Stormbreaker needed a companion after all.

Loki stepped out of the ship and walked into the forgery, looking around carefully. He could sense that someone else was there, as well as the echoes of what had happened here before.

The Space Stone had been in his grasp for quite some time and it had shared its knowledge and power willingly, especially as Loki had always asked politely. As a result, he had a lot of power at his disposal, a power much more ancient than anyone could've ever imagined. It allowed him much more than his own seiðr ever could and Loki used it wisely.

He took a deep breath and walked further into the dark corridors until he stopped in front of the form for Thanos’ gauntlet. He smirked, and just then there were heavy footsteps behind him.

Loki turned around and nodded at Eitri, his eyes immediately drawn to his hands. It was clear that it had been Thanos’ doing and while it wasn't a permanent damage, it would take some of his magic to undo it. Yet, he needed Eitri’s hands up and working, capable of crafting delicate blade. Stormbreaker, from what he'd seen thanks to the Space Stone, was rather brute and big, not a weapon that Loki favoured.

“Eitri,” he spoke quietly, staring up at the man calm yet unbreakable. Loki wasn't playing games, not anymore.

“King Loki.”

Loki laughed, sardonic and dry. Oh, he was a King of a dead kingdom, the people there not willing to respond to him. Though, he hadn't really tried, still denying that he could be a Frost Giant. Now it didn't matter.

“Let us drop such titles, as we both know nothing stands behind it,” he requested with a smirk.

Eitri said nothing in return, only watched him with sad, yet hopeful eyes. Thor had been there, though it wasn't that long ago, a few Earth days at most. So much could happen in so little time.

“I need you to make me something.”

It wasn't a plea, not really. Loki needed that weapon and Eitri was capable of making it, the only being left that could. Loki smiled sadly and looked down briefly. So much had changed in the last thousand years, places brimming with life were left to rot, forgotten and silent.

“I already made Thor a weapon,” Eitri responded and Loki scoffed.

“Yes you did and we all can see how well that worked out. Half of the universe is dead, Eitri, we do not have time for games. Not anymore.”

It meant a lot coming from the Trickster and Loki knew that the other man could understand how important the case was.

“Thor needed a weapon capable of killing Thanos. I gave it to him,” Eitri whispered, clearly not willing to believe that not everything worked the way it should've.

Loki could understand that, as many people over the years had thought that Thor would be their saviour, their cure for every illness, but it didn’t work like that. His brother had made his mistakes, but Loki admitted that he had come a long way. Still, sometimes it just wasn’t enough, especially facing the Mad Titan.

“Apparently, it did not work the way he wanted it to,” Loki replied diplomatically. Knowing Thor, his brother had let his emotions rule him, which had allowed Thanos to live. Though, it had been the only way, not that Thor or anyone aside from Loki and Stonekeeper knew it.

“Which is precisely why I need you to make me a weapon. After all, Stormbreaker needs a companion.”

Eitri looked at him for a moment, before sighing deeply, with remorse.

“I cannot make you a weapon that would suit you, your majesty,” he replied, glancing down at his hands. “It would require much more mobility and delicate handling than I am capable of now.”

Loki looked at his hands for a long moment before sighing. Getting rid of whatever metal covered Eitri’s hands as possible, but it would require a lot of power, that he would also need to hold the mechanism open. Nonetheless, it had to be done. It changed his plans a bit, elongated them actually, but didn’t destroy them. Loki would need a bit more time to recover from such a massive spell, but it was doable.

“You will need to stay completely still and endure the pain,” he told Eitri, eyes focused on his hands. “I’m going to remove this, whatever it is.”

The Dwarf King looked at him, stunned, already opening his mouth to say something, but Loki cut him off with a raised hand. He gathered his seiðr, spell appearing in his mind effortlessly and breathed out. Following his breath, came the seiðr, emerald green and intense, wrapping around Eitri’s hand, sinking in, until cracks started to form. The Dwarf took in a sharp breath, probably from the pain, but Loki didn't stop, pouring more energy, a silent spell almost vibrating in the air. He could feel the moment Thanos’ power broke under his, the metal almost exploding around Eitri’s hands, but he didn’t stop there.

Switching to a different type of magic, Loki recalled Frigga’s teachings and slowly repaired the burned, torn flesh and muscles, pulling it back together. His healing magic wasn’t perfect, that had never been his forte, but it worked enough to allow Eitri some movement and pain relief.

When he finished, they were both panting, Loki from the effort and the Dwarf from the pain, but his hands were free. Loki pulled his own hands down and slowed down his breathing, his seiðr retreating until there wasn't even a green hue. Eitri took a long look at his hands, tightening them into fists and promptly slid to one knee in front of Loki.

The sorcerer raised an eyebrow, shocked and stunned for once.

“Thank you, King Loki,” Eitri breathed. “You have my eternal gratitude and I shall always be in your debt.”

Loki watched him for a moment, stunned. This was the first time someone actually expressed their gratitude for something he’d done. Granted, he had rarely done something that deserved it, but Loki became so used to always being cursed and hated, that he wasn’t sure what to do. He decided to send Eitri a small smile.

“Stand up, Dwarf King,” he said finally, surprising even himself. “Considering what I require of you, I say there shall be no debt after I leave this place.”

This had to be the first time he turned down a debt owed to him and Loki wasn’t sure where did that come from. Maybe because the universe was on a brick of an end, or maybe he was done playing games? Maybe simply because he knew how it was, to have something important taken away from him, by Thanos…

Nonetheless, Eitri stood up and nodded silently, probably equally as shocked.

“I trust you know better what weapon do I need, therefore I shall leave you to it. I’ll also take care of the mechanism,” he assured the Dwarf and walked away.

This place was saturated with Thor’s energy and Loki soaked it up as much as he could. It wasn’t easy to admit that he actually missed the oaf, but he did, deeply so. This time on Sakaar ship, with Thor living next doors reminded him just how much he actually loved his brother. Even after everything, after every betrayal and all of the pain, Loki still loved him. And he had a promise to keep, probably more important than any other promise in his long life.

It wasn’t terribly hard to hold the mechanism open with his seiðr, the power of the neuron star almost overwhelming in its intensity. Loki held on and let his own power soak it up a bit, from a safe distance. Were he any other species, he would probably be able to hold it open, like Thor had, but his Jotun origins didn’t allow him that. The heat would probably weaken him greatly, do so much damage it would take a lot of time to repair it.

Yet, his seiðr was more than enough, and when Loki came back to Eitri, there it was his new weapon. Made from Uru, it was as resilient as Stormbreaker, yet more delicate looking, made for speed and agility, not brute strength, laid a double-bladed spear. It was silver and black, sleek yet powerful and when Loki reached for it, his seiðr exploded.

He gasped, closing his eyes for a moment as his form changed and he was holding the spear with blue, marked hands. It reacted well to his Jotun powers and Loki smiled with satisfaction.

“It can change forms, my Lord,” Eitri spoke and Loki looked up at him with raised eyebrows. “While forging it, I didn’t have a full image in my head, yet it had decided on its own. It changed between two forms, just as you do.”

Loki glanced down at the spear and closed his eyes again, trying to listen to its song. It wasn’t long before he grasped the meaning of it, and the weapon changed into a longsword. He smiled in satisfaction. Swords had never been his preferred weapons but he could and would fight with them, which was a detail even Thor sometimes forgot about.

“Its name is Lævateinn,” he announced and felt the weapon react, changing back into the spear.

He never used weapons much, unlike Thor, but this one felt right. After all, it had been made with him and only him in mind. Loki nodded at Eitri, before turning back to his ship.

“Thank you for your assistance. I believe we shall see each other again.”

 

2.

At first, Loki wasn’t sure what was guiding him as he piloted his ship. Lævateinn was calm in his pocket dimension, as he didn’t it to be seen before the time was right, and logically, he should be on his way to Earth. Yet, there was something pulling him away from Midgar and Loki was sure that wasn’t Thor. No, his brother was safely on Earth, as safely as he could be at that time, so it had to be something different.

Only when the planet revealed itself did Loki realize. It was Titan, the place where everything had started, where Thanos had gotten his sick ideas. He still didn’t know what was pulling him in, as the Time Stone wasn’t there anymore, the Stonekeeper was gone and… And someone was left there.

He gently sat the ship down and stepped out, the air dry and dead, the remnants of Stones’ energy still palpable for Loki. Once stepped out of his ship it was obvious who had been left on the dead planet.

Stark was sitting on some gravel, hunched over and still visibly shaking. When Loki reached out with his seiðr, he could see parts of what had happened and he frowned. Noone should be forced to watch their child pass away and to know it was because you’ve failed to stop Thanos…

He stepped closer soundlessly and stood there for a moment, wondering how to start a conversation. Normally, he would make a joke, anger the genius, but now it didn’t seem appropriate.

“Stark,” he finally said, startling the other man.

Just seconds later he had the armour’s weapons in his face, but Loki only arched an eyebrow, hands neatly behind his back. Stark looked terrible - shaken, with red, haunted eyes, clearly in shock, grieving. His hands though were steady and were Loki someone else, he’d be even maybe scared. Yet, he was the God of Chaos, a Jotun King and for once he wasn’t playing any games.

“You can put those away,” Loki snorted, gesturing towards the repulsors. “They will give you no advantage, and I didn’t come here to fight anyway.

“Yeah sure,” Stark snapped. “Last time we’ve met made me a bit cautious if you would.”

Loki rolled his eyes and stayed still. He would even be irritated if he didn't know that Stark was right. Yet, it was all behind them and it was time for the mortal to realize that. They had so much more important things than old feuds.

“Yes, thank you for the reminder,” he snapped back, though he still didn’t make a move. “However, I think that we have a bit of a bigger problem than a faux invasion on your planet that happened years ago.”

Stark cocked his head to the side, eyes sharp and calculating. Loki merely raised an eyebrow at him, waiting. It took Stark a few seconds, but finally, he lowered his arms, though his stance remained defensive. If they were to fight it wouldn’t change much, but Loki didn't care if that meant he would talk to him.

“Now, can we talk like civilised people?” he asked sarcastically and continued before the man would snark back. “First, I would like to say that I am sorry for the loss of your son.”

Immediately, Star raised his arms again, weapons ready to fire but Loki merely smiled sadly.

“It’s not easy to lose a child and I sincerely hope we shall be able to bring him back. But for that to happen, we need to cooperate.”

The world left a bad aftertaste in his mouth but Loki swallowed it. Usually, he played a game by himself, only him against the universe, something bigger than anyone would imagine. This time, however, they needed to work together, because Thanos with the Infinity Stones was not an opponent to underestimate. When the whole universe was in their hands, there was no time for old arguments and pride, even Loki understood that.

“Explain,” Stark demanded angrily, for once not his snarky self. Though, Loki suspected, losing a son in his own arms did that to a person.

“I trust that the Stonekeeper looked into the future and saw the possible outcomes of your fight?” Loki arched an eyebrow and Stark nodded, his eyes turning sad. “I imagine there was only one where we win, and as much as it pains me, everything that had happened, had to happen. This is a situation similar to Ragnarok - some things are meant to happen and there is nothing we can do to avoid them. What we can do though, is pick up the pieces and operate with what we have. Nothing is final, Mr Stark, not even death. I would know,” he added bitterly.

“Yeah, that I can trust,” Stark snarked. “Thor said you were dead, a few years back.”

Loki nodded with a smirk.

“It is harder to kill a god than many would believe. That being said, we do not have eternity. Time is of the essence, Stark and you need to be taken away from here. I believe we are both more needed on Earth than here.”

Stark watched him in silence for a moment. It seemed as if he was trying to figure him out but Loku just stared back. For once, he wasn’t playing, wasn’t doing all of this for his own gain. There was no fun in anything when half of the universe was gone and Thanos held the Infinity Stones. That was too much power in the hands of a madman and Loki hated when someone was trying to control him. He preferred to be the one holding most of the cards and he did have a personal agenda with Thanos. He wanted to destroy him, simply put.

“You’re different,” Stark noticed, for some reason not using the nickname he had seemed so proud of before.

Loki sighed deeply and for a moment glanced at the destroyed planet. He was different, that was true. Or was it? Had he really changed or were it just the masks that he had put away? It was a difficult question, as for centuries, he had been pretending to be thousands of different personalities. It was hard, after all this time, to figure out who he really was, under all of his tricks and illusions.

“I am not playing a game anymore,” he finally answered, figuring it was the best answer he could give Stark. After all, that was the core of everything, wasn’t it? For most of his life, Loki had been playing games, thousands and thousands of them, just for the fun of it. Now, there was no time for games anymore. “It is high time for the universe to learn that there is much more to Chaos than anyone would’ve ever thought.”

He turned around just in time to stop a blade from going through his skull, grabbing his attacker and twisting their hand behind their back. Loki quickly tied them together with his seiðr and only then actually looked at whoever he was holding.

It turned out to be a woman, horribly alternated, probably by Thanos’ hands and Loki sighed when he realized who it was. They’ve never met before but Loki liked to stay informed and he knew a daughter of Thanos when he saw one.

“Nebula,” he spoke, voice dry. “I am not sure about you, but on Asgard, it wasn’t common to attack a person that came to help and save you.”

“How can I know you won’t just lead us to him?” she spat a girly and Loki rolled his eyes again. Mortals. They were all so tedious.

“Ah yes, because I want nothing more to just give my allies to the one who tortured, controlled and then killed me. Sounds like a marvellous plan, really.”

Nebula stilled at his words and turned her head to look at him.

“You’re Loki,” she stated, eyes narrowed and still untrusting. It didn’t matter though, they didn’t need to trust and love each other.

“The last time we saw each other I was a bit less...sane, I’m aware” Loki patiently sighed and let her go fully.

She turned around to face him, her eyes sad. She too had lost someone dear to her, probably her sister as Thanos had, in the end, got the Soul Stone.

“Whatever your little plan is, it’s too late anyway,” Nebula snarled, trying to cover her helplessness with anger.

“Oh my dear, but everything is just starting, really. Sometimes you need to hit the rock bottom to have a solid foundation,” Loki stated philosophically and smirked at his new companions.

 

3.

“So, you’re tired of going around in green leather and being the bad guy?” Stark asked with a smirk, making Loki sigh internally.

They were on their way to Earth but this ship was the fastest, so they had to spend some time together and while Nebula was brooding in her seat, Stark became very chatty.

“Why Stark, I still look amazing in leather, why should I change?” Loki purred and watched with satisfaction as the man sputtered and growled. He laughed and continued.  “And to answer the other part, I am neither good nor bad. I simply am, doing as I please, when I please. I am the God of Chaos, Stark, I don’t fit into your puny expectations.”

“Weren’t you the God of Mischief or something?” Stark asked. “Did you decide to rebrand to be cooler? Kind of lame, if you ask me…”

Loki rolled his eyes and sighed internally again. Stark was such an annoying person when he tried and it was only his luck that they were stuck on a ship together. He was seriously considering doing a silencing spell on him but decided against it. They needed to get along, as much as they could.

“I'm much more than any of you mortals could've imagined. I did not need to ‘rebrand’ as you called it, I simply decided it was high time I stopped playing a game called life. There is, unfortunately, no time for games anymore,” Loki sighed.

He had really enjoyed his little plays and tricks. They had made his life so much more interesting with a few minor cons, as being controlled and torture by Thanos or being in an Asgardian prison. Otherwise, it was interesting, a chaos of movements and events, something he could stir and control. Now though, there was only place for survival and defeating Thanos and Loki knew it.

It was, after all, important to know when to make a certain move.

“Now we need to focus on defeating Thanos and getting the Infinity Stones back. For that to happen, we need all help we can get and I am a valuable asset if I can say so myself.”

“Sure you are, Kinky Merlin,” Stark chuckled and plopped down on the copilot seat. “Last time we saw each other you were parading with a fancy stick and some daggers.”

“Last time we saw each other I was trying to stop Thanos’ invasion on Earth, force you to work together and show your government that the threat is coming,” Loki replied dryly, already quite done with the conversation.

Any other item he would be thriving, playing subtle games and making Stark angry, but for once he was worried. Loki wasn't sure in what state Thor was and what exactly happened on Earth. So many things could've gone wrong and the lack of knowledge was maddening.

“It really isn't the time for old fights. We have something so much bigger on our hands, and I trust you're aware of that.”

Stark had been the one to fly the bomb into space, therefore he had to see Thanos’ ships. The Stone had probably shown him its fair share as well and Loki suspected that the man had been having dreams abound Thanos. Universe worked like that sometimes, finding one person to bear the whole weight of something.

“You can say that,” Stark muttered. “You're really going to help us?”

“Of course I am, Stark,” Loki snapped. “It so happens that I do not enjoy living in the universe, where Thanos holds all of the power capable of wiping out all of the life.”

He also wanted their people back. He wanted Asgard to come alive again, everyone they've lost. That wasn't something Loki would admit to anyone, but he had more than one reason for helping them.

Well, it would be them helping him and Thor but that was just semantics.

 

4.

It was quite late when they finally entered the right Solar System and his companions were asleep. Loki stretched, his joints popping and pushed the ship further. It was running out of fuel but they were close and soon enough he was almost entering the atmosphere.

Loki let the turbulence wake Stark and Nebula up before he let his seiðr envelop the ship, to make it harder to notice on any radars. For a moment, he closed his eyes and focused on the energy he could feel.

It was effortless to locate the place where Thanos had used the Stones, the energy pulsing enough for almost any seiðr user to notice.

He guided the ship to that place, only to raise his eyebrows. Some quite advanced technology had been used to cover a large area and make it seem as if there was only wilderness there. Yet, Loki could sense the undeniable energy of living beings, the remnants of a catastrophe almost radiating into the air.

“Stark?” he called, letting the ship hover in the air. “Do you happen to know what exactly is hidden there?”

“Wakanda,” came the grave reply and Loki raised his eyebrows. A new country, how curious.

He lowered the ship a bit more and sent his seiðr again, to try and find the entrance. It wasn't very hard, yet the technology used was much more advanced than anything else he'd seen on Earth. Loki had to admit he was quite impressed.

He set the ship on the right height and leaned back slightly. Loki was quite curious of what had been hidden under such advanced technology and the view didn't disappoint.

The city was golden and high, nature around it bright and brimming with light. Yet, it didn't take much to notice the destruction that had taken place there. He carefully sat the ship on the outskirts, not to keen on being shot down.

“It happened here,” Loki informed his companions, his seiðr almost pulsing from all the energy and suffering that saturated the air and ground.

“They fought,” Nebula noticed and Loki had to admit she was right.

Not that he had expected anything less, but his heart jumped a bit when he noticed the threads of Thor’s energy all over the battlefield. Thor was there, Loki could feel that and he couldn't stop himself from smiling.

They exited the ship, the air humid and heavy with rain. The sky was heavily clouded, low thunders echoing through the air and Loki sighed.

He straightened himself and called his seiðr, bright green sparkling around his hands as he threaded the spell. It didn't take long for the storm to calm down, even as far away as it was and then, the sky started to brighten. When Loki finished, the sun was shining at the destroyed city, basking everything in a warm glow.

“Merlin, was this really necessary?” Stark asked with his eyebrows raised. “Don't think you should be wasting your…tricks to make the sun shine.”

“Ah, but it is crucial. I made a promise to someone and I am quite determined to keep this one.”

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed it and if you did, let me know  
> i promise, the reunion will be in the next one, i wanted to do it from thor's perspective


End file.
